Technology archive for 2012-02-26

Mike Butcher / TechCrunch:Apple Prepares To Pull Evi From App Store. Did It Slap-Down Siri? — Last month we reported on the launch of Evi, a new iPhone (iTunes link) and Android app (link) which was very Siri-like in its capabilities. Maybe it was too good at acting like Siri? — Yes, Evi can't do Siri's trick …

New submitter dgharmon writes "The month of February is a month to remember for the LibreOffice project. They formally incorporated the foundation in Berlin, released 3.5 with major changes and now Intel is joining the foundation as a member. Intel will also make available the LibreOffice for Windows from SUSE in Intel AppUp center. Intel AppUp Center is an online repository designed for Intel processor-based devices." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Chris Sauve / pxldot:Android Measuring Stick — Android fragmentation is a topic that swells up how and again, but most discussions lack evidence and are typically laced with vitriol and “fanboy” accusations. I would like to work through a quantitative approach (beyond just version distribution numbers) …

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of February 20th, 2012Refresh Roundup: week of February 20th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

By 2020, the average wireless network user will generate 1GB of data traffic on wireless networks every day, and this will require networks 10 times as fast, Nokia Siemens Networks CEO Rajeev Suri said at an NSN event on Sunday, the eve of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

HTC kicked off its new strategy of offering fewer but more differentiated phones in 2012 with the launch on Sunday of the HTC One series of phones, emphasizing high quality photo and audio technologies.

New submitter eeplox writes "I make nature videos for my YouTube channel, generally in remote wilderness away from any possible source of music. And I purposely avoid using a soundtrack in my videos because of all the horror stories I hear about Rumblefish filing claims against public domain music. But when uploading my latest video, YouTube informed me that I was using Rumblefish's copyrighted content, and so ads would be placed on my video, with the proceeds going to said company. This baffled me. I disputed their claim with YouTube's system — and Rumblefish refuted my dispute, and asserted that: 'All content owners have reviewed your video and confirmed their claims to some or all of its content: Entity: rumblefish; Content Type: Musical Composition.' So I asked some questions, and it appears that the birds singing in the background of my video are Rumblefish's exclusive intellectual property." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

What does a fish look for in a leader? No doubt a nice fishy smell is important, and maybe a sense of direction too, but the overriding factor happens to be something much simpler, and indeed simple enough for a robot to mimic. Our old friend Maurizio Porfiri and a colleague from New York's Polytechnic Institute have shown that a fish-bot will quickly attract live followers if it has a nice, fluid swimming motion. When the stroke is just right, real fish will pull up alongside and visibly relax their own motion to conserve energy, just like geese flying at the rear of a 'vee' formation. It's hoped that, in the future, robots might be used to guide endangered fish populations away from oil spills and other calamities, in much the same way as battery-powered leaders have guided humanity since the dawn of time (allegedly).Continue reading Fish are lazy, naive, easily led by robots (video)Fish are lazy, naive, easily led by robots (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink PhysOrg | Journal of the Royal Society | Email this | Comments

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:HTC's Answer To iCloud: A New Deal With Dropbox — Slotted in the middle of HTC's Android phone announcements tonight in Barcelona, the CEO of HTC, Peter Chou, revealed a new development that is the handset maker's answer to Apple's iCloud: a deal with Dropbox, currently the name to watch in cloud storage.

Matt Brian / The Next Web:HTC comes back to form with HTC One X, One S and One V — We are live at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, checking out the newest devices from Taiwanese smartphone giant HTC, as it hopes to kickstart a return to form with its new range of ‘hero’ handsets that do away with the feature creep …

Looking to accessorize your fresh HTC look? Then how about the Media Link wireless dongle for starters? It'll mirror the display from your One X or One S on any HDMI-equipped TV. We're told it'll be as simple as plugging the adapter into a free HDMI input and then performing a three-finger swipe on your phone. We're not yet sure of the price, but expect to see the add-on in stores from mid-April when the new One family becomes available.HTC reveals Media Link wireless HDMI adapter for One X and One S phones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Chris Hall / Pocket-lint:The HTC One family and Sense 4.0: Welcome to a new HTC — MWC 2012: But is it new enough? — HTC has outlined its new phones for 2012 hoping to revitalise and rediscover its success with what it is calling a new HTC. — “We are young, but even in our short life the market has changed dramatically …

Let's just say we were underwhelmed by the first iteration of HTC Beats on the Sensation XE. But now it looks like the technology has been revamped for the latest One handsets, so -- once we've tasted the pudding -- we might just have to revise that opinion. The new Beats is claimed to make music sound more "authentic," and whereas the previous version could only be activated inside HTC's stock music player, this time it'll work with YouTube, Pandora, Spotify and any other third-party Android app. What exactly will it do with those apps? And will it move beyond its current gimmicky bass-boost status? We'll just have to wait and listen.HTC updates Beats Audio, makes it work with any third-party app originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

The ViewSonic ViewPhone 4e -- the downmarket sibling of the ViewPhone 4s -- launched at MWC today and unlike the 4s, the 4e was essentially feature complete. This dual SIM set will ship with Android 2.3.x Gingerbread, a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 display, a 3-megapixel camera, and an FM radio. We had a chance to see it in both yellow and a truly garish pink hue and the housings are impressively solid and while they may not come in our favorite colors, they're at least fun. While not as tack sharp as the ViewPhone 4s' IPS display, the 4e looked just fine and the the quick UI tour didn't show any obvious slowdowns or stuttering from its 650Mhz CPU. We're expecting this to launch in Europe before June for about $350.Gallery: ViewSonic ViewPhone 4e hands-onZach Honig contributed to this report.Continue reading ViewSonic's ViewPhone 4e hands-on (video)ViewSonic's ViewPhone 4e hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Facebook can be a wonderful tool for keeping in touch with your friends, but if you get too personal you can wind up in hot water, like an Ohio man who has been ordered by a judge to post an apology on the social networking service to his estranged wife over a divorce-related spat.

ananyo writes "Bits of data travelling the internet have a tough commute — they bounce back and forth between optical signal lines for efficient transmission and electrical signal lines for processing. All-optical routers would be more energy efficient, but their development has been hindered by a lack of optical memory devices. Now, researchers have developed just such a device (journal article abstract), paving the way towards a faster, more energy-efficient internet. The devices are based on optical cavities that can be switched between light-transmitting and light-blocking states to construct digital signals. Researchers have been working on such devices for several years, but previous versions used too much power and could not retain data long enough. The new memory cells use just 30 nanowatts of power, 300 times less than previous designs, and can retain data for one microsecond — long enough to support processing."(See also this paper on all-optical swtiches by four of the same authors.) Read more of this story at Slashdot.

It's not often that device codenames serve as a direct mission statement, but with the outing of the One V, neé Primo, first-timers are getting an entry level HTC-welcome. The Ice Cream Sandwich-laden handset, running a Sense 3.6 overlay, hearkens back to the design of the Legend, with a black-ish gray, aluminum unibody, hardware keys (three for back, home and apps) and prominent chin jutting out below its Gorilla Glass-coated, 3.7-inch WVGA LCD display. The company hasn't specified the exact CPU powering the phone, but we do know it's a 1GHz single-core affair buffered by 512MB RAM. Storage-wise, you're looking at a paltry 4GB onboard with plans to augment that capacity via 25GB of Dropbox, as there's no available microSD slot. Beneath its sealed enclosure lies a 1,500mAh battery, quadband GSM and WCDMA radios, in addition to support for GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth. Directly benefiting from the manufacturer's recently announced ImageChip, is its 5 megapixel rear shooter, outfitted with an AF f/2.0 lens and capable of recording 720p video. There's no front-facing camera to be found on the unit, although situated as it is on the lower end of the consumer spectrum, that's to be expected. Check after the break for HTC's video preview.Continue reading HTC One V unveiled: Sense 3.6 on ICS, Beats audio, 3.7-inch WVGA LCDHTC One V unveiled: Sense 3.6 on ICS, Beats audio, 3.7-inch WVGA LCD originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms[..]

Just frothy thinking about HTC's recently unveiled superphone, the One X? Well, for those of you that call the US home, outside of importing HTC's latest, you're going to have only one network choice, and that's AT&T. Unlike the global Tegra 3 version announced today, Uncle Sam's variant swaps out that quad-core goodness for an LTE radio paired with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 by Qualcomm. It also makes the first occasion a Beats by Dr. Dre-powered handset makes an appearance on the carrier. Other then that, you're looking at the same gorgeous 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 HD screen, 8-megapixel shooter and Sense 4 running atop Ice Cream Sandwich. As for when it'll land? The duo's playing coy, only mentioning it'll come in the "coming months." Stay tuned for a hands-on.Continue reading HTC One X exclusive to AT&T in the US, brings LTE, Beats, ICS and Sense 4 to Ma BellHTC One X exclusive to AT&T in the US, brings LTE, Beats, ICS and Sense 4 to Ma Bell originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

See HTC's new superstar handset the One S earlier during our MWC 2012 liveblog and want one for your very own? Well, we've got some good news for you T-Mobile aficionados, as the One S will be coming to the magenta-clad masses before anyone else. That means you'll be able to enjoy its super-slim profile, prodigious Snapdragon S4 computing power and ICS with Sense 4 on T-Mo's blazing HSPA+ 42Mbps network before your friends on Ma Bell, Big Red, or the Now Network. Unfortunately, we can't neither tell you exactly when you can get your hands on one, nor how much it'll cost to do so, but we do know it'll be on sale this spring.T-Mobile gets the HTC One S first in the US, coming this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

HTC's new phone appears to be its middle-weight offering, but it's still with a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED display and a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 inside set to do the heavy-lifting. Previously known to leak fans as the Ville, HTC's brought Ice Cream Sandwich to the fold, alongside the very latest version of its Sense UI -- 4.0 to match that Android version number. The highlight here appears to be that uniformly thin alloy unibody; in science terms, it's a plasma-heated micro arc oxidation process, giving HTC's typical aluminum frame a smooth ceramic finish and apparently toughening it up in the process. Camera-wise, it's wielding a potent eight megapixel sensor with HTC's very own ImageChip and a f/2.0 autofocus lens that's likely to blow all of its previous camera modules out of the water. HTC has focused on the camera software too -- the One S apparently capable of nabbing shots in under a second and the ability to capture full-size stills during 1080p recording. All this, and it's a mere 7.9mm thick. We'll be hunting down a model for a hands-on as soon as we're finished here. Expect to see our impressions very soon.HTC unveils One S, arrives with dual-core power, engineered metal finish originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

We're not even at the devices yet, but HTC CEO Peter Chou is very excited about the camera sensor inside that mysterious phone. The modul packs a f/2.0 camera lens, while the company's been busy crafting its own image chip to complement it, called the HTC, er, ImageChip to help clarify low-lit pictures and ensure a capture speed of under a second -- 0.7 seconds from starting the camera app, in fact. It also has the tantalizing ability to shoot pictures while recording continuous focus 1080p video. Add in a new LED flash that has five different levels of brightness control and as you might be able to guess, we really want to see these phones -- now.HTC unveils One series camera upgrade, gets dedicated chip, f/2.0 lens, 0.7-second capture originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

HTC's launched a new flagship handset for Mobile World Congress 2012, the HTC One X -- codenamed Endeavour. Dipping into design notes from The Nokia Lumia line, the One X is a unibody device machined from white polycarbonate that uses Gorilla Glass to protect its 4.7-inch 1280x720 non-pentile Super LCD 2 display. Stunning outside appearances aside, HTC's newest features an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor for the Global edition and a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core for the LTE iteration. Memory specs on the box show 1GB DDR2 and 32GB of built-in storage -- 26GB of which is available to the user -- and an additional 25GB free for two years through DropBox. Connectivity options abound with quad-band GSM and quad-band 42Mbps HSPA+ -- which includes AWS frequencies, huzzah! At the heart of its 8MP f/2.0 camera section is HTC's ImageChip silicon for clearer shots even in low light conditions and the ability to shoot pictures while recording continuous focus 1080p video. Rounding out the new set's photographic prowess is a unique LED flash with support for 5 levels of automatic brightness control and a front facing 1.3 megapixel number that'll sort your 720p HD needs. All things considered we'd say HTC has likely knocked it out of the park with this Engadget specced device, the only thing some might possibly nitpick would be that the 1800mAh battery nestled in the housing is never coming out nor will you find a spot to pop an additional memory card in. We'll be back as quick[..]

More news coming out of HTC's camp in Barcelona. The firm shared promise rings with Dropbox a few months ago, offering 5GB total storage capacity on its Sense 3.5 devices, and now the two companies are ready to take the next step in their commitment with ICS-backed version 4.0. This time they're integrating the cloud service directly into its OS and are offering five times the storage (and arguably five times the fun) for free, up to a grand total of 25GB -- in addition to the amount you already have in your account -- for the course of two years. That's great, but we're rooting for the relationship to last longer than "til end of contract do us part."HTC adds even more Dropbox support in Sense 4.0, storage upped to 25GB originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Shearing clippers meet HTC's Android device portfolio. It appears UK head Phil Roberson wasn't just blowing the proverbial smoke this past January when he stated intentions to tighten up the manufacturer's portfolio with fewer releases focused on "amazing hardware" experiences. At today's MWC keynote the company announced an initiative that'll quite literally institute a One product line to rule them all ethos. Functioning much like Samsung's Galaxy series does, all smartphones and tablets that fall under the 'One' brand umbrella will showcase an attention to three distinct areas of detail: top-notch imaging, integrated Beats audio and industrial design. And, unlike the divisive monikers that often results from heavy-handed carrier intervention, the 130 operators already on board for the OEM's newborn products will retain that streamlined naming convention. No word yet on whether the outfit intends to group its Windows Phone array under this same tree or if that'll warrant an entirely new family itself.HTC debuts One brand at MWC 2012, unifies Android device lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Vlad Savov / The Verge:HTC One X announced for April release with quad-core Tegra 3, 4.7-inch HD display, and Android 4.0 — Shockingly, the rumors were all true. HTC has today confirmed the existence of a 4.7-inch, quad-core superphone, which it is dubbing the One X and using as the hero device of its new One smartphone family.

Nilay Patel / The Verge:Sony Xperia P hands-on pictures, video, and close up with the WhiteMagic display — We just had a quick chance to play with the new Sony Xperia P, and... it's a slightly smaller riff on the Xperia S packed into an aluminum unibody case. The big draw is the “WhiteMagic” LCD display …

Devindra Hardawar / VentureBeat:With the Xperia P and Xperia U, Sony finally has an Android phone for everyone … Sony unveiled two new smartphones tonight at Mobile World Congress, the Xperia P and Xperia U, which will sit alongside the company's previously announced Xperia S phone. — Altogether, the phones make up Sony's new “Xperia NXT” brand.

Without revealing the rhyme or reason behind its seemingly arbitrary Xperia naming convention, Sony's newly minted Mobile Communications arm unveiled its middle ground NXT series entry, the P, at this evening's MWC event. Occupying a space firmly between the S and U, this 4-inch handset boasts a company first -- that WhiteMagic display tech -- while incorporating the better known hardware elements of its older stablemate. With that signature aluminum unibody design, transparent bar and NFC-capabilities, this Android handset is poised to usher a whole new crop of smartphone users into the company's wireless folds. We spent some up close and personal time with the unit, so click on past the break to see whether this phone suffers from middle child syndrome or truly shines on its own.Gallery: Sony Xperia P hands-onDeveloping...Continue reading Sony Xperia P hands-onSony Xperia P hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Freescale has launched a system on a chip that includes a full base station, which will allow vendors to build smaller, greener and cheaper units while maintaining performance for 3G and 4G networks, the company said on Monday at Mobile World Congress.

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Sony Corp. declared a return to the smartphone business on Sunday, unveiling its first smartphones under the Sony brand, but warned the group's painful transition would not be as fast as rebranding.

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Sony Corp. declared a return to the smartphone business on Sunday, unveiling its first smartphones under the Sony brand, but warned the group's painful transition would not be as fast as rebranding.

Dante Cesa / Engadget:Sony Xperia S now shipping, Ion to join the world tour come summer — Those of you that have been waiting to get your grubby paws on Sony's Xperia S are in luck, as Sony just confirmed in its MWC keynote that it's now gone on sale. Those with stellar memory will recall that's more concrete than its former Q1 suggestion.

Are you endeavoring to see the latest and greatest out of Taiwan? So are we, and we have a couple seats to watch Peter Chou excite us with some fancy new stuff on stage. That doesn't mean, however, that you won't be able to come along for the ride. Our liveblog of HTC's Mobile World Congress press conference is about to begin, so keep your eyes locked here! February 26, 2012 2:30 PM ESTLive from the HTC press conference at MWC 2012! originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Sony certainly didn't pull out the big guns today at its Mobile World Congress 2012 keynote -- those showstoppers were for CES. Instead, the electronics giant decided to trot out two new, mid-to-low end additions to its NXT line of handsets, a portfolio that previously claimed the ion and S as its sole occupants. Focused on delivering a handset for every price point, the ill-concealed Xperia U, formerly known by its cheeky Kumquat codename, combines a compact, idiosyncratic design with user experience flourishes to add value and a higher profile to an otherwise ground floor device. We got to spend some brief time with the handset, so join us after the break as we share our first impressions.Gallery: Sony Xperia U hands-onDeveloping...Continue reading Sony Xperia U hands-onSony Xperia U hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Those of you that have been waiting to get your grubby paws on Sony's Xperia S are in luck, as Sony just confirmed during its keynote that it's started shipping globally, with the first units available at Sony's Barcelona store during MWC. Those with stellar memory will recall that's more concrete than its former Q1 suggestion. To recap, those taking the plunge will be privy to a 1280 x 720 4.3-inch display, a 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM and a 12-megapixel camera all wrapped in a gorgeous shell -- albeit one that runs Gingerbread, with an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade in due course. Additionally the electronics giant also confirmed the Xperia Ion will also be available in globally, however those interested will have to wait until summer. It too, totes Gingerbread and a 12-megapixel sensor, but plays host to a larger 4.6-inch display (albeit at the same resolution as the S), a presumably faster dual-core 1.5GHz CPU and delectable LTE. If either strikes your fancy, we humbly suggest our pair of hands-ons from CES -- at least if neither the freshly unveiled Xperia U or P are to your liking.Sony Xperia S now shipping, Ion to join the world tour come summer originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

pigrabbitbear writes "The collapse of the Mayan empire has already caused plenty of consternation for scientists and average Joes alike, and we haven't even made it a quarter of the way through 2012 yet. But here's something to add a little more fuel to the fire: A new study suggests that climate change killed off the Mayans." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Yes it's the LG Optimus Vu, and we got a chance to play with it! The verdict? It's quite lovely. The design is simple but attractive, and the build quality / materials are impressive. There's no doubt this is a thin and wide device -- just like the Samsung Galaxy Note, two hands are the name of the game here. Is it a phone or a tablet? Tae a look at our gallery below and judge for yourself. We'll have more impressions and a hands-on video for you soon.Gallery: LG Optimus Vu hands-onLG Optimus Vu hands-on at MWC 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:Sony Aims to Remake Name for Itself in Phones — Sony on Sunday tried to make the case that it yet has a place in the crowded market for Android phones. — The event is the first major product introduction for Sony since it took full control of the cell phone business that it had run jointly with Sweden's Ericsson.

Chris Velazco / TechCrunch:Sony Officially Unveils The Xperia P And Xperia U — While the ideal of skipping Sony's event to watch a beautiful Barcelona sunset was strangely appealing, we nevertheless come to you from Sony's press event where the recently divorced company has just (officially) revealed two new handsets, the Xperia P and the Xperia U.

Sony didn't just reveal some new smartphones at its Mobile World Congress press event today. It also took the opportunity to announce that it will launching what Sony Mobile CMO Steve Walker describes as "by far the largest brand advertising campaign that we have run for many years." He went on to say that Sony would be "significantly increasing" its marketing investment in 2012, but failed to get any more specific than that, noting only that the company would be "engaging consumers in new and very creative ways."Sony plans largest ad campaign in 'many years' to launch new Xperia smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

While we haven't seen 3D phones take the world by storm just yet, that hasn't stopped LG refining its Optimus 3D series. Mobile World Congress 2012 has been hit by the Optimus 3D Max and it's faster, thinner and, well, just plain better looking. Unfortunately, there's been less progress on the software side; this dual-lens Android phone is still wearing last year's Gingerbread jacket. Our full first impressions and video awaits, after the gallery, below.Gallery: LG Optimus 3D Max hands-onContinue reading LG Optimus 3D Max hands-on (video)LG Optimus 3D Max hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

ViewSonic has kicked off the Showstoppers festivities at Mobile World Congress with a couple new tablets: the ViewPad G70 and E70 (pictured left and right). The twin tabs are specced just about the same save for a couple minor differences in bells and whistles and the E70's 150€ (roughly $200) price tag ringing in at half of the G70's €300 tally. Both tablets will ship running Android 4 ICS, feature 7-inch displays -- with E70 getting an 800x480 version and the G70 a 1024x600 unit -- 1Ghz Cortex A9 CPUs, and 3300mAh cells. The E70 should start shipping by April this year and the G70 in late June, and we're pretty sure ViewSonic will need all that time to polish both of these up -- no, not the fingerprints, though they are magnets. The device's response to touch input wasn't particularly accurate and the interface was very lagged when using it. Unfortunately we were also unable to ignore how weak these two displays were, and on a device that uses the screen for its principal point of interaction, that's a dealbreaker for us. Here's hoping these two get a buff and polish before launch time. Hit the gallery for some pics.Gallery: ViewSonic ViewPad E70 and G70 hands-onZach Honig contributed to this postViewSonic ViewPad E70 and G70 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 10:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments